6 Top Gainers In Healthcare Sector (CMRX, PRVB, MOTS...)

(RTTNews) - The following are some of today's top gainers in the pharma/biotech sector.

1. Chimerix Inc. (CMRX)

Chimerix is a biopharmaceutical company developing novel antivirals to address unmet medical needs.

Gained 31.10% to close Tuesday's (Apr.9) trading at $2.74.

News: Michael Sherman, former Chief Executive Officer of Endocyte, Inc., has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer of Chimerix, effective immediately.

In addition, Michael Andriole, who formerly served in Endocyte as Chief Financial Officer has been appointed to the Company's newly created position of Chief Business Officer.

In connection with the hiring of Sherman and Andriole, on April 8, 2019, Chimerix's Board of Directors granted Sherman a stock option to purchase 1.25 million shares of Chimerix's common stock, and Andriole a stock option to purchase 500,000 shares of Chimerix's common stock. Each stock option has an exercise price per share equal to the closing price of Chimerix's common stock on the grant date.

Pipeline & Near-term Catalysts:

-- The Company's lead product candidate is oral Brincidofovir in late-stage development for the treatment of smallpox. The marketing applications for oral Brincidofovir in the indication of smallpox are expected to be filed in 2020. -- Brincidofovir is also under phase II testing in pediatric transplant recipients facing life-threatening adenovirus infection, dubbed AdAPT. The Company plans to provide an update on AdAPT enrollment in mid-2019. -- Also in the pipeline is IV Brincidofovir under phase II development for multi-viral prevention.

2. INmune Bio Inc. (INMB)

INmune Bio is a clinical stage biotechnology company that is developing new immunotherapies that reprogram a patient's innate immune system to allow the immune system to fight cancer.

Gained 20.83% to close Tuesday's trading at $10.50.

Pipeline & Near-term Catalysts:

-- INB03 under a Phase 1 clinical trial in patients with metastatic cancer with increased inflammatory biomarkers in peripheral blood. -- INKmune for women with relapsed/refractory ovarian cancer is expected to enter into a phase I/II trial in the summer of 2019 in the U.K. -- XPro1595, which is entering a biomarker-directed Phase I clinical trial in patients with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease who have biomarkers of neuroinflammation.

Recent event:

The Company went public on the Nasdaq Capital Market on February 4, 2019, offering its shares at a price of $8.00 each.

3. PhaseBio Pharmaceuticals Inc. (PHAS)

Gained 17.15% to close Tuesday's trading at $12.57.

News: The FDA has granted Breakthrough Therapy designation for the Company's investigational drug PB2452, a novel reversal agent for the antiplatelet drug ticagrelor.

In a phase I trial, PB2452 achieved immediate and sustained reversal of ticagrelor's antiplatelet effects, according to the Company.

Near-term Catalysts: -- Initiate Phase 2a trial of PB2452 in the first half of 2019. -- Data readout from Phase 2a trial of PB2452 in the first half of 2019. -- Initiate Phase 2b trial of PB2452 in the second half of 2019. -- A Phase 2b clinical trial of PB1046 in patients with Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension is underway, with results expected in the first half of 2020.

Recent event:

The Company went public on the Nasdaq Global Market on October 18, 2018, offering its shares at a price of $5.00 each.

4. HTG Molecular Diagnostics Inc. (HTGM)

Gained 13.10% to close Tuesday's trading at $2.85.

News: No news

Recent event:

On March 7, the Company announced financial results for the year ended December 31, 2018.

Net loss for the year ended December 31, 2018, narrowed to $16.5 million or $0.60 per share on revenue of $21.5 million. This compared with a net loss of $19.0 million or $1.79 per share and revenue of $14.8 million in 2017.

The Company expects revenue of $2.5 million to $3.0 million for the first quarter of 2019, and revenue of $23.0 million to $28.0 million for 2019.

5. Provention Bio Inc. (PRVB)

Provention Bio is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to intercepting and preventing immune-mediated diseases.

Gained 12.65% to close Tuesday's trading at $2.85.

News: The Company announced that it has dosed the first patient in its Phase 3 clinical trial of PRV-031 (teplizumab) in patients with recent onset type 1 diabetes, dubbed PROTECT.

The global PROTECT trial is expected to enroll approximately 300 patients ages 8-17 with recent onset type 1 diabetes at approximately 80 centers worldwide. Enrollment in the trial is expected to be completed by the end of 2020.

6. Motus GI Holdings Inc. (MOTS)

Motus GI Holdings is a medical technology company, and its flagship product is Pure-Vu System, an FDA-cleared and CE-marked medical device indicated to help facilitate the cleaning of a poorly prepared colon during the colonoscopy procedure.

Gained 10.68% to close Tuesday's trading at $3.73.

News: No news

Near-term Catalysts:

-- Submission of a Special 510(k) Notice to FDA for the Second-Generation ("Gen 2") of the Pure-Vu System in the first half of 2019. The Gen 2 Pure-Vu® System has been designed to improve the mobility and setup logistics of the system and will retain all the same functionality as the current generation of the Pure-Vu System in terms of colon cleansing. -- A single-arm multi-center, prospective study evaluating Pure-Vu System to facilitate bowel cleansing in approximately 100 hospitalized patients who are indicated for a diagnostic colonoscopy procedure, dubbed REDUCE study, is underway.

The per protocol planned interim analysis of the REDUCE TRIAL, announced in March of this year, showed statistical significance in the first 45 patients on the primary endpoint of improvement in bowel cleanliness from baseline. The Company expects to present data from all patients enrolled in the REDUCE study at upcoming GI conferences in 2019.